A Direwolf and a Doe
by Minya-Mari
Summary: (or what if everyone in Westeros had a daemon).
1. Chapter 1

Gendry is pretty certain the first time he sees the little slip of a thing, that both the boy and his daemon have a death wish. There's two other boys, one with a large rat for a daemon and the other a green-eyed butcher-bird, but that doesn't stop the little raggedy looking urchin from clenching his thin hands in anger at the fat one's taunting; his daemon changing quickly from a field mouse into a spotted big cat. The resulting hiss from it making both older lads laugh nervously.

He and Orla share a look, and before she can temper him against it, Gendry's stalking over to them.

Orla trots after him, her form taking that of a doe-her favourite-and as Gendry pushed in front of the littler one, she very nearly trampled the over-sized rat at the fat boy's feet.

"You like picking on the little ones, do you?" he demands, deliberately drawing himself to his full height. Gendry knows himself to be bigger than most boys his age, and these ones are no different. "When I hit that steel it sings," he stalks forward, and the two boys and their daemons shuffle backwards. "Are you gonna sing when I hit you?" Gendry demands, and the fat one shakes his head quickly, turning away and pulling his friend along with him.

The little one turns back to he and Orla, his daemon now back to the form of a sun-kissed field mouse upon his shoulder. "Thank you," he says sullenly, but there's a musical note to his voice. Gendry narrows his eyes-there's something not quite right with that, he sounds too much like a _girl_-but nods and turns to leave.

"W-wait! Please," the boy scurries to his side, his daemon blinking warm brown eyes up at Gendry.

"Could we walk with you?" _He_ asks, and Gendry freezes; it's rare for a daemon to speak to a person, but that's not what makes him uneasy. The boy's daemon is _male_.

The boy stills as well, turns steel-grey eyes to glare at the soul on his shoulder. "Sorry Arry," the creature says, and burrows his way back down the boy's shirt.

Those grey eyes move back to Gendry, and he repeats his daemon's words. "We won't be any trouble, I swear it."

Gendry frowns, turns to Orla. She nods her delicate head, wide eyes turning to the field mouse already staring at her.

"What's your name?" Orla asks, everything she is centred on these two urchins. Gendry watches as the field mouse switches forms to a sleek black cat, as the boy shrugs him off of his shoulders to walk on the ground.

"I'm Caedy," he supplies with an eager air, and Orla takes it in stride; never mind it's probably a lie. Gendry flicks his eyes back to the boy, only to find grey ones already staring up at him.

"My name's Arry," the boy says, hand absently playing with the sword at his hip. It's as skinny as he is, Gendry thinks. "What's yours?"

He was never all that good at taking, Orla got that gift. "Where'd you get that sword?" he asks instead, and the boy-Arry-burrs up at the mention of the steel on his hip.

_"It's mine,"_ he snaps defensively. "It was a gift."

Gendry snorts, getting a glare from Orla, who'd turned to eye them both. "Stole it more like."

Arry glares at him, long face stern and angry. "It was a gift from my brother, stupid," he snaps, makes to say something else, but stops himself and stomps away, plucking Caedy from where he sits on Orla's back. He doesn't even seem to notice how his fingers brush Orla's hide, but Gendry does.

It's a strange feeling, but nothing at all how others describe it being. They say that it's repulsive, that it feels like you've been violated.

But all Gendry feels is a strange mix of happiness and concern over the whole situation.

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><p><em><span>Minya:<span>__**Oh hai there guys. Been a while, no? How are you, I wonder? Because I've now got feels over the potential this thing has, and the fact that I probably won't hit the mark. But anywho, carry on.**_


	2. Chapter 2

M'back. Take this, if you please.

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><p><em>Disclaimer: I do not own A Song of Ice and Fire, or His Dark Materials, nor any of the characters therein. I'm just playing with them for a little while.<em>

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><p><em><strong>Title:<strong>__ A Direwolf and a Doe_

_**Summary:**_ _(or what if everyone in Westeros had daemons)._

_**Genre:**_ _adventure/friendship_

_**Chapter 2**_

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><p>They take to calling her <em>'Lumpyhead',<em> and Arya's well past giving a shit. But Caed cares, and Gendry and Orla don't call her and Caed names, so more oft than not she's walking with them.

Arya thinks that Orla looks a lot like the king's daemon, but brushes the thought away when Goldcloaks come charging in, demanding for Gendry's head.

Yoren throws her the reins for one of the horses, his wolf daemon's teeth flashing as the sounds of hooves gets closer. "You take this, boy. And you _run_ if this turns bad." He points to where the Bull stands with Orla by the stream, blue eyes wide and jaw set as he stares at the Goldcloaks. "And you take that one with you."

Arya nods, turns and almost flees past the stream, Caed an imitation of Yoren's wolf.

Not so stupid as to think that the appearance of the Queen's men means anything good, Gendry is. Arya watches as Orla stands stock still, muscles not even so much as twitching.

The goldcloaks won't say what they want him for; only that it's the Queen who wants him, her orders, and Arya peeks out from behind the brush she'd hidden herself in, the horse a little ways away.

The Bull stands a few feet to her left, and he's staring at her strangely. "What're you doin'?" he asks, but his daemon doesn't take her eyes from the men in white.

Arya feels foolish and angry all at once. Caed shifts from the lady-bug to a hawk and settles on her shoulders. "_Hiding_," she snaps, fingers coming up to run through Caedmon's feathers in an attempt to calm them both. "What do you think?"

It's when Yoren and his greying wolf tell the Gold Cloaks to go get fucked and some other vulgar terms, that things quickly escalate.

A goldcloak makes to draw his sword, and all the boys and men surrounding Yoren pick up weapons in threat. The horse Yoren gave her starting at the sudden movement.

Arya snorts, and Caed's claws tighten on her shoulder. _For a bunch of rapers and thieves, they're loyal?_

But there's the taste of panic in the back of her throat, and Arya adjusts her stance so she's closer to Gendry. If he notices, he doesn't comment on it.

They're chased off, and the horse tied to the tree beside them was never needed.

.

.

Hot Pie, Arya finds, is spineless unless Lommy Greenhands is with him. That doesn't stop either one of them from taunting or pushing her to the dirt once the recruits have set up camp for the night.

It's one of these times that Caedmon finally breaks and shifts his form back to one that fits most comfortably, that felt like home , that felt _right_. Arya prays to any gods that will listen that these men and boys don't know what a direwolf is.

His fangs are nearly the same length as her forearm-but Arya's tiny, she knows, so she supposes that the observation doesn't count for much-and his shoulders are aligned with hers, and he _snarls_. He's never made that sound before, in any form.

_But_, she thinks to herself, _he's never had to before_.

The boys reel back, falling down to the ground, where Arya lays braced on her elbows. Yoren shouts from where he's brushing down his horse, and Caed comes back to himself, suddenly back to playing the coward, dropping to his belly. "Stop fighting now, ya hear?" Yoren orders the six of them, but doesn't take his eyes off of Caed.

And while Lommy Greenhands accidently bumps into the Bull in his haste to get away, Hot Pie is slower in making his escape, still staring blankly at Caed on the ground in shock, his daemon shaking and squeaking at him to come away.

Caed shifts quickly to a field mouse and scurries to hide in her shirt. Arya jumps to her feet, a challenging tilt to her chin, as she growls, "Leave us alone."

Gendry's jaw is set as he comes over with an armful of firewood, Orla watching intently. "What happened?" he asks, and for once, Arya wants to tell him. Gendry was different from the rest, honest where the others lied through their rotting teeth.

But, it's to protect Caed and herself. She can't trust him with that, not yet. "Nothing," she mutters, and takes the sticks from his arms before she or Caed can convince her otherwise.

..

It's cold at night, and Arya often curls herself into Gendry's side, Caed a fluffy warmth at her back. Sometimes she wakes up to startling blue eyes, other times he's still sleeping. Those times it's usually been a horrible dream that's woken her, and then Caed, and she sits up shaking for the rest of the night, her daemon strong and steadfast and most importantly _not_ _Dust_.

But today seems to be getting worse by the hour.

The goldcloaks came back, and they killed Yoren, his Ríona bursting into a brilliant cloud of golden Dust as they did. The once loyal recruits dissipated like snow to the touch, and Arya managed to pluck Caed up and stuff him down her shirt before grabbing Gendry's arm and bolting into the underbrush.

..

Hot Pie and Lommy find them a day later, and unfortunately, so do the Queen's men.

..

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><p><em><span>Minya~<span>__**Tadaa! Two chapters within two hours, what ever is the world coming to?**_


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